glad to have you with us on this edition of newsline. it's wednesday september 25th. the president of kenya says the siege at a mall in nairobi is over. islamic extremists stormed the complex on saturday, shooting

shoppers and taking hostages, they spent four days holed up inside. the president said security forces have defeated them. he spelled out the toll of the attack. more than 61 civilians were killeded, including several foreigners and six soldiers. about 170 people were wounded. security forces shot and killed five militants and arrested 11 others. gunfire and explosions rang out from the mall during the siege. he said several bodies including those of militants are thought to be trapped in the rubble. members of the islamist group said they carried out the attack in retaliation for a kenyan army operation in their country. u.s. president barack obama has opened the door to diplomacy with some of his countries longstanding rivals. he addressed world leaders gathered at the united nations general assembly. he suggested some new directions

in the relationships with syria and iran. nhk world's mickey abata reports. >> this was president obama's fifth time to address the general assembly since he first took office. it was a 45 minute speech. he spoke at length about the civil war in syria, where the u.n. team confirmed the use of chemical weapons against civilians. he also spoke about how the international community should act together. >> now there must be a strong security council resolution to verify that the assad regime is keeping its commitments. and there must be consequences if they fail to do so. if we cannot agree even on this, then it will show that the united nations is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws. i do not believe that military action by those within syria or

external powers can achieve a lasting peace. nor do i believe that america or any nation should determine who will lead syria. that is for the syrian people to decide. nevertheless, a leader who slaughtered his citizens and gassed children to death cannot regain the legitimacy to lead a badly fractured country. >> president obama also spoke about his readiness to pursue improved relations with iran. >> we are not seeking regime change. and we respect the right of the iranian people to access peaceful nuclear energy. instead we insist that the iranian government meet its responsibilities under the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and u.n. security council resolutions. we are encouraged the president received a mandate to pursue a

more moderate course. given his stated commitment to reach an agreement, i'm directing john kerry to pursue this effort with the iranian government, in close cooperation with the european union, the united kingdom, france, germany, russia and china. . the roadblocks may prove to be too great. but i firmly believe the diplomatic path must be tested. >> iran's new president is making his global debut later today. he's been calling for building a new relationship with the u.s. diplomats and observers alike are watching to see if there is any chance president obama will meet him on the sidelines of the assembly. japan's foreign minister met with william hague on the sidelines of the general assembly. they agreed to work together on the crisis in syria.

ashida thanked hague for the assistance they provided. japanese official s are willing to offer additional aid to help those. it's important to raise even more money to help those in need. the south korean government is building up its military to deter increasing threats from north korea but they haven't decided on which fighter jet to choose. the boeing f-16 se was selected as the candidate. defense ministry spokesperson said the defense acquisition program administration voted against selecting the model. the euro fighter and lockheed martin's f-35 stealth fighter were also in the bidding

administration members agreed the f-15 se fighter would not deter nuclear threats from north korea. they hope to choose a next generation fighter jet within a year. generals and experts have been pressing the government not to pick the f-15 se. they're likely to choose the f-15 fighter jet because of its stealth operations. chipmaker as cross oceans are joining hand as cross oceans to keep up with mobile gadgets. >> it's not a small deal either. we're talking about the world's number one and number three rivals in the semiconductor industry. a japanese firm is set to join with its rival to better compete

on the stage. their counterparts at applied materials have agreed to merge in the second half of 2014 at the earliest. applied materials sits in the top spot. the two firms will hold 25% of the global market after the merger. officials from both sides say they'll establish a holding company. the chairman will be from tokyo electr electron. the ceo will be from applied materials. the chip equipment market is expanding, the popularity of smart phones and other communication tools is driving demand. chip machinery makers are trying to keep up with an evolving industry. the high cost associates with the development for new devices are another challenge. officials from the two firms hope to share their know how and investment costs by joining forces. now, let's get a check on the markets.

the dow jones industrial average ended lower on continued uncertainties about the federal reserve's monetary policy. for details on the japanese markets we go to eileen lee at the tokyo stock exchange. how are things looking this morning? >> good morning. looking at a cautious start at the moment here are the opening levels for wednesday, september 25th. we can see that the nikkei is slightly lower by 0.11%. at 14,716 points after ending almost flat on tuesday. and a broader topic is lower by 0.07% a pretty cautious start after the markets open wednesday. tech cut of 300 billion yen to help boost capital investment in

japan, and this is expected to be part of the government stimulus package. we may want to keep track of tokyo electron. we'll see if the company will benefit from the merger deal you mentioned earlier. moving on to currencies, starting with dollar yen first. the dollar is now at 98.78 to 890 yens the yen. trading in the currency was uncertain overnight. there's uncertainty for the monetary easing program especially after some mixed u.s. economic reports on tuesday. the case home index price rose in july. the conference bought consumer confidence index declined in september. now investors will be looking for more direction from upcoming

u.s. data on durable goods later today, and advise gdp on thursday. the euro is under some selling pressure on continued speculations that the europe and central bank may relaunch following comments from an official tuesday. yen is at 133.04 to 10. the current currency is also hurt by data on german business sentiment that came in weaker than market estimates. with the yen standing firm, we may see some selling pressure on japanese exporters. and we'll be keeping track of all that. back to you. >> thanks for that update from the tokyo stock exchange. japanese prime minister and canadian prime minister have agreed to start high level talks to discuss japan's shale gas imports from canada. abe met with harper in ottawa

tuesday. he mentioned a pipeline project in which some japanese firms are taking part. they're hoping to start shipments to japan in six years. abe asked harper to unveil the shale export plan as soon as possible. japan hopes to import a steady supply of cheap natural gas. harper said the hurdles for approval are not very high. >> translator: i have high hopes for ministerial level talks between the two countries. to secure a stable supply of natural gas at competitive prices. >> both prime ministers agreed that ministers from the two countries should discuss financial cooperation frameworks and other matters for an early start to trade of shale gas. that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

a powerful earthquake has shane southern pakistan. at least 17 people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 are injured. experts with the u.s. geological survey say the magnitude 7.7 quake hit at about 4:30 p.m. on tuesday. the earthquake has cut communications with the affected area, so they cannot accurately assess the situation. local media say the roofs of two schools have collapsed. and many houses have been damaged in awara. the town is 70 kilometers south of the epicenter. about 240 kilometers away,

people felt a tremor that lasted about 20 seconds. there have been no immediate reports of injuries in the city. experts say the focus had an estimated depth of about 20 kilometers. a series of aftershocks with a magnitude of around 5 have been observed. government troops and helicopters were dispatched for the rescue operation. a controversial rice purchasing scheme in thailand is causing social problems the policy is raising living standards for rice farmers who make up nearly 70% of thai farmers. the scheme has widened the gap between rich and poor. >> i'm here at a rice storage unit where 28,000 tons of rice are being stored and waiting to be released into the market. all over the kingdom, there are over 1,000 storage units like this.

>> the rice purchase scheme was introduced two years ago by then newly elected prime minister. her government pledged to buy race from farmers at almost 40% higher than the market price. critics say the scheme is ruining the nation's finances with estimated losses so far of at least $7 billion. they claim it was simply designed to win votes. central thailand is blessed with rich soil and extensive irrigation. rice farmers here are 457 happy with the scheme. 48-year-old farmer farms 48 acres and harvests twice a year. his income has more than doubled. he's been able to buy an additional 12 acres and new farming equipment including a six-wheeler pickup truck.

he even started a side business selling guarding furniture. >> translator: i never made this much money before just by farming. there was no way to earn a decent living. i made enough to send my kids to school. the rice purchase scheme is excellent. i hope it continues. >> not everyone is reaping the rewards. at think tank, the institute estimates that 6 out of 10 farmers have not joined the scheme. in northeast thailand, people hold a different view from those down in the plains. farmers here have small fields and depend on seasonal rains. they're among the poorest farmers in the country. >> translator: those that really benefit from the scheme are farmers who have a lot of land. but farmers here can't produce

much rice. the most important thing for us is the water supply. the irrigation system. we have been asking the government for help, but it never comes. >> this 26-year-old farms one and a half acres. she's one of the many farmers unable to produce enough rice to sell to the government. >> i wish i could make money through the rice purchase scheme. but i simply can't produce enough to qualify. times have never been worse. i have no income, not even enough to feed our family. and the soil in my rice field is bad. >> the family has been growing rice for three generations. but they still struggle. last year she and her husband made barely 180 u.s. dollars all

>> i have to borrow money to buy rice for my family. sometimes i need to borrow rice. i want help from the government, but it doesn't reach us. >> rice farmers used to be the backbone of the economy. the government's rice purchase scheme was supposed to help them. but instead many farmers feel excluded and helpless. emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty. emboldened citizens still demanding democracy, the threat of violence. the push for peace. the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every wednesday live from bangkok, only on nhk world 23450uz line. some fishermen working off the coast of northeastern japan are back on the water. they've been fishing well offshore, checking their catches

for safety, then putting them on the market. fishing was suspended after radioactive water was found to be leaking from the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant into the ocean. 21 trawlers left the port early in the morning. >> we have to show tepco, the japanese government and people everywhere that we are really determined to resume full scale fishing operations. >> members of the cooperative say tests of fish and ocean water did not show any problems. they decided to return to work. to fish at least 50 kilometers from fukushima daiichi and more than 150 meters deep. they can only catch of course poe pus and squid. those species have lower levels of radiation than government standards. three japanese fishing

vessels were captured off brazil in july and august. two were released one is still being held in the country. brazilian authorities have released the number 58 and number 7. there's still holding the number 108. officials at the brazilian institute of environment and natural resources said the three ships had violated the country's regulations for protecting sea birds. one captain was briefly arrested for not complying with the regulations, his ship and tuna catch were confiscated. officials at the japanese embassy in brazil said the three vessels followed international rules. the court gave two ships permission to leave brazil while ruling against the third vessel. it's been held in a southern brazilian port for nearly two

months. you can find satellite positioning systems in planes, cars and even phones. they've beco an essential tool in many people's lives, they can be off the mark. there's a new system being developed in japan to create a higher standard for accuracy. nhk world reports. >> fall brings the rice harvest. work is going smoothly. but there's no driver in sight. a satellite controls the harvester to sentimenter accuracy. about 36,000 kilometers above earth, the satellite orbits as a part of japan's first home grown satellite positioning system. most countries rely on the global positioning system or

gps. but some factors cause gps data to lose its accuracy on its journey to ground receivers. two of these are the shift of the satellites out of their orbits and a delay in the signal caused by the ionisphere. they can be off as much as 10 meters. the system sends collection data and reduces the error to sentimenters. the system achieved positioning at the level of accuracy. the key was producing the most accurate correction data as possible. this is the heart of the system. at japan air yo space exploration agency. correction data is being collected and sent to the satellite. unique algorithm is used to calculate factors that influence

the gps accuracy. data is produced to increase the positioning errors. improved accuracy creates new opportunities. one example is using robots for agricultural work. a group led by hokaida university professor aims to become the world's first team to completely automate farming. gps systems for farming are already used in places such as north america and europe. unlike this harvester with the system, a driver has to be in the vehicle with the current system for safety and return the machine. the accuracy of the system allows the vehicle to make turns by itself.

the harvester most precisely along the edge. >> translator: it would be possible for one person to control multiple machines. essentially i envision building an extremely efficient and effective farming system as my blueprint for the future of farming. >> research is underway to figure out which fields this technology could transform. time now for a check on the weather. people in some areas of southern japan are dealing with stormy weather conditions. >> there's a severe tropical storm across the island.

this is symmetrical. and there's a clear eye in the center. this indicates that the system will not weaken any time soon. now, it's including parts of the islands in the stormy area, it looks like it's going to approach the southern part of the ian lads tonight, as a severe tropical storm. it passes east of japan into saturday. the mainland japan is going to be highways. probably five meters across the region today. of course, a very stormy condition for the souern islands into thursday. if you look at the 2340r7b8g, a seasonal front is causing rain, localized heavy rainfall is possible with thunderstorms, there's a possibility of hail as well throughout the day. now, across the west looking dry, thanks to this big high pressure system over the northern half of china, wet weather continues for the cell due to the remnants of typhoon usagi. the heavy rain is over, but

additional rain is worsening the situation in terms of flooding. across the philippines, more heavy rain is coming down because the tropical system is influencing the monsoon. flash floods in the philippines, killing at least 20 people. more than 36,000 residents were affected. thousands of families sought shelter in evacuation centers. major roads were cut off by mud and debris. monsoonal rains in the philippines have grown fiercer in recent years. into the next 72 hours, the most heavy rain is going to be found across the western part of the area. about 200 millimeters or more is likely into the next three days or so. flooding, landslides are going to be an ongoing risk. temperatures are not doing that

in many places. only 12 degrees for the high. and minus 2 for the low. across the americas. things are looking more like winter up in the mountains for the northern rockies. we have winter storm warsn place. lots of snow as well as windy conditions are causing low visibility and dangerous driving conditions. the valley areas, including the pacific northwest, more heavy rain for the southeast coast of the u.s. rain will linger for the next several days. temperatures will be quite pleasant across the east, very chilly across the northwest. only 16 degrees for vancouver as well as seattle on the hump day. clear skies for the western continent. low pressure system sitting and spinning over the eastern part of europe causing very wet conditions and also low

temperatures. across the west, quiet and warm. you can see a big contrast between the west and east. moscow ten degrees above average while milan lower than average. here's your extended forecast.

that is all for this edition of newsline. thanks very much for joining us.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: fresh smoke, more explosions, and word three floors have collapsed at the shopping mall in kenya, amid conflicting reports the standoff with terrorists is nearing an end. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. and in new york today, president obama addressed the u.n. general assembly, reaching out to iran's new leader and demanding that the u.n. act against syria's current leader. >>